Friday

SunSpaceArt is a team of professional scientists and artists who work together to deliver workshops in UK schools. Their aim is to spark imagination and develop creativity. The project is led by Dr Helen Mason and funded by the STFC. The team have worked with thousands of children and hundreds of teachers across the UK (7-12 years old). The children have produced wonderful artwork about astronomy and space science. The feedback has been outstanding 'Today I loved this lesson because the art and science inspired me' (child). We have also run workshops at many other venues (London Science Museum, Manchester, Blackpool, Ely Cathedral etc). We have focussed on schools in economically disadvantaged regions, where an enhancement in science attainment is needed. Students with special educational needs have responded particularly well to our activities. When 'in person' workshops were no longer possible (March 2020), we delivered material on-line (SunSpaceArt.org and YouTube) and held virtual workshops for children and training for teaches. In February 2021, we ran a 12 hour long STEAM (STEM + Arts) Festival involving science, astronomy and space talks, craft activities, art, poetry and music. This celebration was aimed at children in the daytime and adults in the evening. It was a great success, reaching thousands of people, bringing a bit of sunshine to a rather dark and difficult winter.